Symposium: “Learning and Teaching Repositories: is this the last chance?”

The symposium will focus on the particular issues affecting design, development and use of learning and teaching repositories, issues faced by organisations who either have a repository or who are about to develop one.

We are only too aware that the uptake of the use of learning and teaching repositories in HE has been terribly poor in comparison with that of research repositories, and many current development projects represent a “second attempt” to design systems better suited to lecturers’ needs and the encouragement of open resources. It is likely to be the last attempt. Our event will identify common ground amongst participants and identify what it is people believe will be successful in what might be seen as the “last chance for learning and teaching repositories”.

The event will be more like a seminar with contributions from participants leading to the publication of a report outlining our vision of the future place for repositories in an increasingly complex online environment for e-learning.

Programme:

9:30 Morning Session (with Coffee Break 11:00 – 11:30)

During the morning, each participant will have the opportunity to briefly report on the work they are doing and the philosophy they are following. In particular they will identify the key features which they know will, or which they hope will encourage active engagement by teaching staff.

We have representation from institutional repositories at Worcester, the OU, Coventry, Aston, Oxford Brookes, Nottingham Trent, some using software developed at Southampton, others Equella. And from inter-institutional repositories in Scottish colleges, OpenJorum, Xpert, Humbox and TRIBE. And supporting repository development in the OneShare Project, JISC Programmes and the RSP. And those not yet running a repository will have chance to say what features attract their interest.

The morning will conclude with a short discussion to identify common themes and to set the agenda for the afternoon

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch

14:00 Afternoon Session

Group discussion to sort out ideas in more detail will be followed by a plenary disussion to identify and prioritise themes and to agree the messages to include in the report/publication.

15:30 Tea

And lingering for those who wish to linger longer

After the symposium this web site will be used to record general information people contribute but we will publish a short paper from all of us to set out our thinking/vision.

Delegates are invited to stay at the Diglis House the evening before, dinner will be included. There is no charge for this, but participants will have to pay their own travel costs.

To book a place at the symposium please e-mail: a.rothery@worc.ac.uk stating name, institution, job title, and project title (if applicable) and if you wish to stay overnight. Places will be limited to around 20 so early booking advised.